The Corralitas Red Car Property was a private right-of-way through Silver Lake (Los Angeles) for the Pacific Electric interurban streetcar. The “Big Red Cars” ran until 1955 when the Glendale Line was decommissioned for freeway construction. For almost 40 years, a series of developers tried and failed to develop the Corralitas Red Car Property. It's not a park, it just looks like one.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 27, 2009, 9:43 AM. One of two mystery hawks on Corralitas Drive. (Click on photo to enlarge.)Sunday morning, while walking up Corralitas Drive, I heard a hawk calling rather insistently from the direction of Riverside Terrace & Riverside Drive. At the same time, I noticed another hawk in a tree above me. When Red Tail Hawks nested off the log cabin decks, the juvenile would often stand on the railing of a deck, calling to be fed. The parent (who was about the same size as the juvenile) would then land in a nearby tree with a good sized rat in its talons and call for the youngsterto join it in the tree.This time however, the hawk in the tree appeared much larger than the second hawk (who was doing the calling). The second hawk flew in tight circles around the tree. It seemed to be harassing the first hawk, who kind of hunched its shoulders trying to appear larger and more menacing. The second hawk landed in the tree, continuing to scream at the first hawk. Both eventually flew off in the direction of the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract. The neighbor whose tree in which the 10 minute drama played out, watched from his deck. We agreed it was unusual to witness such behavior. He said hawks have been hanging around his tree lately. He hoped they were chasing the Mourning Doves away. (Cooper's Hawks prey on Mourning Doves.) Recently, one hawk even landed on the ground in his yard. It may have been a failed hunt.Sunday, both hawks had black and white horizontal stripes on their tails and wings. According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website, they could be several different hawk species, and juveniles have different color patterns than adults. Cornell has a good comparison section of similar birds, but without a good photo, it's tough to identify these hawks. Click here for all our hawk posts.If you have photos or video of birds of prey, or any other wildlife in the neighborhood, please send them to us, along with any other details you can remember of the encounter: redcarproperty@gmail.com.

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Community Residents’ Association for Parks is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 1997 by our Silver Lake neighborhood. We are dedicated to acquisition and preservation of the Corralitas Red Car Property as a park in partnership with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
Contact: redcarproperty@gmail.com

Community Residents’ Association for Parks is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 1997 by our Silver Lake neighborhood. We are dedicated to acquisition and preservation of the Corralitas Red Car Property as a park in partnership with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.